Israel Leads the Globe in Cyber Security Innovation

· Israel,Cyber Security,Machine Learning,Security,Ai

Israel Leads the Globe in Cyber Security Innovation

Israel stands strong as one of the most competitive countries in the world, earning itself the number 3 spot for innovation on the Global Competitive Index. The Startup Nation is home to more than 430 artificial intelligence startups worth more than $3.5 billion. Of these startups, a large majority are focused on improving cyber security.

Cyber security falls within the Enterprise sector of startups, and most new startups founded since 2014 fall under either that sector or the marketing sector. Enterprise cyber security consists of incident response, detection, prevention, and cyber intelligence. At $575 million, cyber security for enterprises is the most active sector by funding, as well as the most active subsector of startups. In particular, the Enterprise AI market is valued at $31 billion and continues to grow by 64% annually.

But what exactly is the relationship between artificial intelligence and cyber security? In a recent study conducted by IBM, 46% of a group of hundreds of global decision-makers agreed that AI can help improve security and compliance within their respective organizations. They believe that they can use AI to help analyze all of the data being generated from varying systems, users, and applications. Utilizing AI and machine learning would allow companies to obtain valuable knowledge from all of the raw digital data received.

One clear and very useful application of machine learning for cybersecurity is in the realm of user authentication. Customarily, user authentication relies on a password, or in the case of many smartphones, biometric scanning. The use of AI would allow for different methods of user authentication, relying on algorithms to track the interactions of the user. This would allow for the system to learn the physical habits of the user, such as click speed or keystroke rhythm, and be able to identify when a foreign user or imposter tries to gain access to an account or device. AI based solutions like this one, along with other solutions, such as detection of malware and phishing websites, have already been developed by the IBM Cybersecutiry Center of Excellence in Be’er Sheva and integrated into their security products.

Another Israeli startup, Fraugster, utilizes AI technology to detect payment fraud. Fraugster’s fraud detection technology learns from each transaction and has the potential to reduce fraud by up to 70 percent. The startup has managed to develop an algorithm that matches the thought process of an analyst reviewing transactions, which increases the accuracy of detection as well as eliminating as many false negatives as possible.

The need for AI applications in the world of cybersecurity stems from the need for improvement of outdated technology in the payment risk market as well as user authentication and overall protection. Israel is demonstrating to the rest of the world just how useful this technology is, and further development and application will lead to the displacement of traditional methods of cybersecurity by more precise and time-efficient solutions.